Creating the Impossible

1. Our Experience of Reality is Created from Within

One hundred percent of our experience of life is created from inside the mind.

Inside-out understanding. Contrary to popular belief, our feelings and perceptions originate within our minds, not from external circumstances. This "inside-out understanding" reveals that our reality is a product of our moment-by-moment thinking, making our experience fluid and constantly changing. This fundamental truth liberates us from feeling like victims of the world.

Three Principles. The human operating system is built upon three spiritual principles: Mind, Consciousness, and Thought.

• Mind: The universal energy and intelligence of all things, the animating force of life.
• Consciousness: The capacity to realize the existence of life, the space where thoughts appear.
• Thought: The creative force that shapes our reality, allowing us to draw conclusions and create stories.
  These principles explain how our inner world constructs our outer experience.

Feelings as feedback. Our feelings serve as a constant barometer of our current thinking. When we feel fear, despair, or anger, it's the system signaling that our current train of thought leads nowhere good. Conversely, feelings of hope, gratitude, or connection indicate alignment with deeper wisdom. This feedback mechanism is a kindness of the design, guiding us without dictating our actions.

2. Everything Truly New Comes from "Nothing"

Everything comes from nothing.

The fertile void. True creativity originates from "nothing"—the formless creative energy of the universe, a space of pure potential before any "thing" has been created. This "Big Nothing" contrasts with the "little nothing" of our personal thoughts, which are filled with pre-formed hopes, fears, and judgments. To create something genuinely new, we must transcend the noise of our minds and tap into this quiet, fertile void.

The creative process. The journey from an initial spark to a tangible creation follows a natural progression. It begins with an impulse from the "Big Nothing," leading to "mucking about" with raw materials, then "doing the work" through sustained effort. This often transitions into a state of "creative flow," where ideas come effortlessly, culminating in the declaration of "completion."

Embrace the blank slate. The blank page, the empty canvas, or the unformed idea is not a barrier but the birthplace of every creative endeavor. By understanding this, we can overcome the inertia of not starting and the fear of not finishing. The act of simply beginning, even without a clear path, is enough to activate the creative engine and allow new possibilities to emerge.

3. Your Inner Wisdom is the Ultimate Resource

There is no end or limitation, nor are there boundaries, to the human mind.

The invisible giant. The Universal Mind acts as an "invisible giant" or "inner GPS," a factory-installed, fully reliable guidance system with access to real-time data beyond our limited personal perspective. This pre-existing creative intelligence provides new thoughts, insights, and ideas, leading to a renewed sense of possibility and deeper feelings. Cultivating a relationship with this inner knowing is crucial for better decision-making and navigating life with ease.

Trusting the system. Just as we wouldn't try to paint our own Van Gogh if we were expecting an original, we shouldn't try to force solutions from our limited personal brain when facing challenges. Instead, we can trust that the deeper Mind will provide creative solutions. This means letting go of overthinking and allowing our minds to wander, opening up to insights that are "endlessly generative."

Freedom of mind. Operating from this state of "freedom of mind" brings ease and clarity, enhancing our common sense and leading to higher performance. We become less distracted by personal thoughts and more receptive to deeper wisdom, living in the moment and connecting more profoundly with the world. This flow state is our natural design, making creation feel effortless and joyful.

4. Achieve Effortless Productivity Through Enjoyment and Engagement

Higher levels of productivity don’t come from finding ways to squeeze more oranges; they come from getting more juice to the squeeze.

Productivity redefined. True productivity is the ratio between effort and reward, not merely the level of activity or busyness. "Effortless productivity" means achieving exponential returns on effort, where rewards are disproportionate to the input. This shift moves beyond the 1:1 effort-to-reward model, focusing on maximizing the "juice to the squeeze."

Two secrets to effortless productivity:

• Indiscriminate enjoyment: Our preferences are not fixed; we can choose to enjoy anything we do. This isn't about faking it, but about dropping acquired biases and engaging fully, leading to higher engagement and natural productivity boosts.
• Full engagement: Going "all in" on a task, without internal debate or distraction, allows mental chatter to fade. This unleashes curiosity and creativity, making even steep challenges feel manageable. As George Bernard Shaw noted, true joy comes from being used for a mighty purpose.

The virtuous cycle. Enjoyment naturally leads to engagement, and engagement, in turn, fosters enjoyment. This self-reinforcing cycle creates a richer experience, reduces distraction, and enhances presence, allowing us to navigate daily stresses with greater ease. When we approach projects with playfulness and joy, fully committed and open to what comes, our connection to the Universal Mind strengthens, bringing forth new ideas and opportunities.

5. The Future is Invented, Not Predicted

The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented.

Imaginary futures. Our minds act as virtual reality generators, making whatever we think about seem real. This means our scary thoughts about the future don't predict failure, nor do positive thoughts guarantee success; they merely distract us from our present resources. The concept of "the future" itself is a mental construct, not a fixed reality.

The ultimate creation formula. Creating anything in the world boils down to two steps:

1. Show up and begin moving in the direction of your dreams.
2. Respond to what shows up along the way.
   This simple formula acknowledges that while the path is often unpredictable, the creative intelligence behind life will emerge to guide us, bringing "fresh new thinking and unexpected synchronicities."

Overcoming mental obstacles. We often struggle with "big stuff" due to:

• Poor decision-making: Relying on willpower instead of common sense and inner wisdom.
• Misunderstanding the creative process: Viewing it as rigid steps rather than a natural unfolding.
• Misinterpreting being stuck: Believing we're stuck in external circumstances, when it's actually just our thinking.
• Impatience: Forgetting that creation takes time.
  Recognizing these thought-created limitations frees us to act.

6. Embrace "Failure" as a Path to Success

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.

Trial and success. Learning is an iterative process of experimentation, not a linear path to perfection. Toddlers learn to walk and talk through countless "mistakes," driven by innate curiosity. Self-consciousness, however, often stifles this natural learning by making us fear error and accountability. To overcome this, we must get "ourselves"—our habitual, self-limiting thoughts—out of the way.

Thought as shadows. Our thoughts about failure are as temporary and insubstantial as shadows. Just as shadows are side-effects of light, feelings of failure are merely transient fluctuations in thought. When we see this, the fear of failure loses its power and stops being a reason to avoid action. This understanding allows us to "play the game" regardless of how we're feeling, knowing that our state of mind doesn't dictate performance.

"Do the thing, and you shall have the power." Ralph Waldo Emerson's law of nature states that ability follows action, not the other way around. We develop competence by doing, even if badly, not by waiting until we feel capable. This means taking on tasks we're sure to fail at, staying out of our heads, and repeating the action. This persistent engagement, unburdened by fear of judgment, is the true path to developing power and skill.

7. Generate Momentum Through Focused Action

At a certain point you can’t really tell if you have created the momentum or it’s creating you.

The flywheel effect. Momentum is the ultimate force multiplier for success, transforming a project from a strenuous individual effort into a self-propelling force. Like pushing a giant flywheel, initial efforts are immense, but sustained pushing eventually builds speed until the wheel spins on its own. This means that what initially seems impossible when solely dependent on personal effort becomes achievable as momentum takes over.

The momentum formula. Focused Intention/Time × ‘God’ = Momentum. This formula highlights that sustained, focused effort over time, combined with openness to the "energy and intelligence behind life" (the 'God' factor), maximizes the odds of success. It accounts for both deliberate action and the inexplicable "just happens" moments that accelerate progress.

Taking massive action. Generating momentum often requires "massive action," which can be defined as making numerous specific action requests or blazing through many steps quickly. This isn't about busyness, but about creating a cascade of small interactions that collectively build an "avalanche of momentum." Overwhelming a goal with disproportionate action, rather than merely appropriate action, can "embarrass the goal" into submission.

8. Relinquish Control to Unleash Creative Flow

If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it. You just do it one step at a time.

The 51% rule. Success is rarely 100% within our control, but having a "51 percent" say in how things turn out is more than enough. This perspective acknowledges external factors while empowering us to show up fully without undue pressure to predict or control the future. It's like flying by the seat of your pants, but realizing "your pants are made to fly."

Snakes, ladders, and success. Life's journey is non-linear, full of unexpected boosts (ladders) and setbacks (snakes). The "game is rigged in your favor" with more ladders than snakes, meaning that if you simply stay in the game long enough, you're likely to reach your destination. This perspective encourages consistent action without attachment to immediate outcomes, trusting the inherent design of the process.

Getting in over your head. True growth and creativity often emerge when we place ourselves in situations where we are unprepared and must rely on the "invisible giant" of the creative mind. Just as a child learns to cross the street by understanding traffic, we learn to navigate challenges by trusting our innate wisdom when pushed beyond our comfort zone. This "jump" allows us to abandon personal thinking and tap into a wider, more powerful resource.

9. Measure True Progress with Universal Performance Indicators

Not everything that can be measured is important, and not everything that is important can be measured.

Beyond KPIs. While Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) track objective, observable behaviors and results, they often miss the deeper, internal factors driving success. Universal Performance Indicators (UPIs) are internally measured, subjective, yet highly predictive factors relevant to anyone, in any endeavor. These UPIs offer a more profound understanding of progress than external metrics alone.

Optimism and pessimism are misleading. Our feelings of optimism or pessimism are merely reflections of our current thinking, not accurate predictors of future performance or objective measures of how things are going. Mistaking these transient feelings for reality leads to unnecessary stress and misdirected effort. Divorcing progress from emotional states allows for consistent action regardless of mood.

Three crucial UPIs:

• Inspiration: A genuine fascination with the project, leading to heightened senses, intelligent responses, and fresh ideas. High inspiration fuels engagement and resilience, making the process more enjoyable than the result.
• Engagement: Being "all in" on the project, fully involved and committed. High engagement means the mind is free from internal debate, allowing access to a "whole stream of events" that move the project forward.
• Lightheartedness: Not taking oneself or the project "too seriously." This fosters buoyancy and enthusiasm, enhancing creativity and willingness to show up. Competence and seriousness are unrelated; enjoyment and engagement go hand-in-hand.

10. Get Unstuck by Resetting Your Thinking

It is only when the mind refuses to flow with life, and gets stuck at the banks, that it becomes a problem.

Thought-created mazes. We often get "stuck" not in external circumstances, but in self-created mental mazes of "givens"—limiting beliefs about our capabilities, the economy, or what's possible. These invisible products of thought create an illusion of fixed reality. Recognizing that we are merely "rats in a maze of our own creation" is the first step to breaking free.

The power of "giving up." When faced with an intractable problem, "giving up" on trying to solve it through strenuous personal thinking can be a powerful catalyst for breakthrough. This means taking a break, letting the mind settle, and creating space for new, unexpected ideas to emerge. Often, the solution appears when we stop forcing it, as the creative intelligence behind the mind resets and re-creates the situation.

Embrace the unknown. Our reluctance to admit "I don't know" often prevents us from accessing deeper wisdom. Spending time in the "vast emptiness" of the unknown, without rushing to fill it with pre-conceived answers, allows insights and revelations to bubble up. This receptive capacity of the mind, often undervalued, is where true creative breakthroughs occur, much like the "oxygen" in a hyperbaric chamber stimulating natural healing.

11. Cultivate Discouragement-Proof Resilience

Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.

The hangover of discouragement. Feelings of misery, bleakness, or hopelessness are merely "hangovers" of our current thinking, not reflections of external reality. Just as a physical hangover dissipates, mental discouragement will pass as the mind's self-correcting mechanism restores equilibrium. Understanding this allows us to "shut the hell up in our mind" and listen for fresh, hopeful possibilities.

Pressure is a thought. There is no inherent pressure in any situation; all pressure is 100% generated by our own thoughts. We often mistake the focused intention that comes with deadlines for the pressure our thinking creates. Recognizing that pressure is a transient thought allows us to perform at our best without intentionally adding stress, knowing it will come and go on its own.

Confidence from understanding. True confidence stems not from manufactured positive thinking or meticulous preparation, but from understanding the "physics of the mind." It's the realization that when our attention shifts from self-preoccupation to full engagement with the task at hand, our natural confidence emerges. This allows us to "unfurl our sails" and trust the "wind" of fresh thinking to guide us, knowing that persistence and resilience are innate, not acquired.

12. Live as a Creator, Embracing the Journey

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

Falling in love with nothing. To be a consistent creator, we must cultivate a love for "nothing"—the blank slate, the starting point of all creation. If we become too comfortable only developing existing ideas, we lose our comfort with the unknown and eventually stop creating from scratch. The solution is to deliberately return to the drawing board, starting fresh and embracing the inherent uncertainty.

Enjoying pretty much anything. Our enjoyment of any task or job is primarily a function of our willingness to engage with it enthusiastically, rather than the nature of the job itself. By choosing to approach each task with energy and a sense of importance, we can transform even seemingly mundane activities into delightful experiences. This "unreasonable enthusiasm" allows us to throw ourselves into any situation and find enjoyment, regardless of external circumstances.

The creator's freedom. Creating is not dependent on a particular state of mind, external circumstances, or others' opinions. This is the ultimate freedom: to create "in spite of" any internal or external noise. As we put the finishing touches on our projects, we realize that the journey itself, with its unpredictable twists and turns, is the most enjoyable game in town. The continuous act of showing up, responding, and trusting the deeper creative force is what defines a life lived as a creator.

Last updated: September 14, 2025